Sucker rod elevator



Sept. 25, 1962 s. TAMNY 3,

I SUCKER ROD ELEVATOR Filed Jan. 19, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 SIMON 7Z7MN4/ INVENTOR,

Sept. 25, 1962 s. TAMNY 3,055,698

SUCKER ROD ELEVATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 19, 1959 HOQ) S/MO/V TQM/Va IN VENTOR.

rates Unit 3,055,698 STICKER RQD ELEVATQR Simon Tamny, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Borg- Warner Corporation, Chicago, BIL, a corporation of Illinois Filed Jan. 19, 1959, Ser. No. 787,609 6 Claims. (Cl. 294-90) The present invention relates to devices engageable with sucker rod ends for raising or lowering a string of sucker rods in an oil well, such devices being commonly known as sucker rod elevators.

Conventional sucker rod elevators comprise an elevator body having a sucker rod receiving slot enabling lateral application of the body to a sucker rod, the body generally being provided with latching jaws for retaining the elevator in the body slot and the body being pivotally V connected to a bail adapted to be supported by a hook which is in turn elevated or lowered to raise or lower the sucker rods.

Heretofore, a serious problem encountered in the use of sucker rod elevators has been kinking or bending of the rods due toa number of factors. Since it is desirable that the body be pivotally connected to the bail to en- :able horizontal disposition of the body and the bail on the rig floor when the elevator is not in use, and since it is desirable that the body be capable of usage in inverted positions, the body of conventional sucker rod elevators is mounted upon a horizontal pivot axis lying substantially midway between the fiat top and bottom surfaces of the body. Moreover, in commonly known sucker rod elevators the sucker rod end is supported on a surface of the body or the latch mechanism, as the case may be, over a substantial circumferential extent in an attempt to constrain the rod; and in some cases full-circle or complete circumferential support for the rod end is provided. When the body tends to tilt about its pivotal connection to the bail, the rod end is then caused to be supported at a single point of contact at one side only of the rod.

Efforts have commonly been made to avoid the rod kinking problem by having the rod end seat located with its axis intersecting the axis of rotation of the body about its pivotal connection to the bail, so that the load imposed on the body by the weight of a string of sucker rods suspended thereby is in line with the pivot axis of the head and the point of support of the bail by the hook. However, since the construction is inherently unstable due to the rod being supported above the axis of pivotal connection of the body to the bail, a tendency to kink the rods is inherently present.

In another rod elevator contemplated by the prior art, the axis of the sucker rod seat is set to one side of the axis of pivotal connection of the body to the bail so that the body tends to pivot about the pivotal support. Stop elements limit such pivotal movement to a position Where the upper surface of the body is normal to the plane in which the bale lies. Since in this construction, a so called full circle seat as aforementioned is provided for the rod end the suspended rod is inherently supported at one side only. Thus a rod elevator of this construction would tend to bend rods if heavy, long strings of interconnected sucker rods were suspended thereby.

The present invention contemplates a sucker rod elevator which avails of the normal convenient construction of a body pivotally supported by a bail so that the assembly may lie flat upon a rig floor or the bail may be upstanding while the body lies flat on the rig floor, and wherein the body may be inverted or turned over to afford two independent seats for the sucker rods thus doubling the life of the body.

However, it is the primary object of the invention to provide such a sucker rod elevator which is so constructed as to not kink or tend to kink sucker rods, no matter how long and heavy the sucker rod string supported thereby may be.

In accomplishing the foregoing objective, a construction is provided wherein the rod end engaged in the elevator seat is supported by a universal seat in the nature of a ball and socket support, so that the rod is at all times supported at least -at diametrically opposite points and in line with the axis of the load support.

Preferably, the construction of the invention is such that the body is pivoted about an axis displaced from the axis of the rod seat so as to provide an overturning moment arm on the body, the body and hail being provided with coengageable stops for limiting overturning of the body in the direction induced by the moment arm, but being free to be completely overturned in the opposite direction. Thus, the body and hail when under load will assume a predetermined angular relation relative to the axis of load support above the elevator and relative to one another, with the axis of the rod seat aligned with the axis of load support; and with a seat constructed in accordance with the foregoing objectives the rod will be supported at least at diametrically opposite points lying in a vertical plane containing the axis of the load support which coincides with the axis of the rod. Accordingly, no rod-kinking tendency is present in the use of a sucker rod elevator in accordance with the invention.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter described or will become apparent to those skilled in the art, and the novel features thereof will be defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a sucker rod elevator made in accordance with the invention, and in a position as assumed upon supporting a sucker rod therein, the upper end of such a sucker rod also being shown in elev-ation;

FIG. 2 is a view partly in plan and partly in section, as taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in vertical section, as taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2, with the sucker rod end shown in elevation;

FIG. 4 is a View in vertical section, as taken on the line 44 of FIG. 3 with the sucker rod end shown in elevation; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view in plan, showing the sucker rod seat.

Like reference characters in the several figures of the drawing and in'the following description designate corresponding parts.

The sucker rod elevator of the invention comprises a generally U-shaped body 1 having an access slot or opening 2 leading inwardly from a flared mouth 3 at one side of the body to a sucker rod seat generally designated 4. The body is substantially identical above and below a medial plane, and therefore both the top and bottom of the body have similar seats 4.

Projecting from opposite sides of the body 1 normal to the slot 2 are trunnions 5, the axes of which are offset towards the mouth 3 from the axis of the seats 4, as best seen in PIG. 2. Pivotally connected to the trunnions 5 is a U-shaped bail 6 having opposed ends 7 bored to receive the trunnions and retained thereon as by means of a snap ring 8 seating in a peripheral groove 9 in the trunnions 5. The bail ends 7 are formed with outward projections ltl affording a recess 11 in which the trunnions terminate and in which the lock rings 8 are housed and protected against damage.

At opposite sides, the body 1 is provided with upper and lower lateral projections 12 constituting stop means engageable by abutment surfaces 13 formed on the bail ends 7, whereby, since the axes of trunnions 5 are offset from the center of the body 1, the angular relation of the body 1 to the bail 6 when the elevator is hanging by the bail is predetermined. Also when the body 1 is lying flat on the floor of a rig the bail may remain upstanding with abutment surfaces 13 engaged with stop projections 12, or the bail may be swung away from the stop projections 12 and allowed to lie fiat on the rig floor.

Sucker rods in general are provided with ends as herein shown. Referring particularly to FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper end of a sucker rod is illustrated at 14, and it will be noted that the rod is provided with an enlargement or upset at 15 adapted to be engaged by a sucker rod elevator. Above the enlargement is a squared section 16 adapted to be engaged by a wrench for either turning the sucker rod or holding the same still, as may be required. At its extremity the sucker rod is provided with a threaded end 17 adapted to be received in a coupling 18, whereby a series of sucker rods may be made up into a so-called string by threading a coupling 18 between adjacent threaded connector ends 17 of adjacent rods.

In the use of sucker rod elevators to lift from a well a long string of sucker rods, a substantial load must be supported upon the enlargement 15, that is, the entire weight of the sucker rod string; and since the plane of contact of the enlargement 15 with the sucker rod elevator in con ventional elevators is located above the axis of rotation of the head of the elevator, the elevator is not inherently stable and the head will accordingly tend to rotate about the pivotal connections thereof to the bail. Under such circumstances, and where the enlargement or upset is not free to move universally in the seat therefor, kinking of a sucker rod supported in the elevator has been quite a common occurrence.

In accordance with the present invention the seats 4 are of a novel form, whereby the elevator of the present invention has no tendency to kink the sucker rods. As best seen in FIG. 5, the present invention contemplates a seat 4 which in essence constitutes a universal seat and forms a ball and socket support for the sucker rod enlargement 15. As specifically contemplated, the seat 4 of the present elevator is comprised of a pair of diametrically opposite arcuate supporting surfaces 20, projecting inwardly at an angle from a circumferentially extended face 20, which are engageable with the sucker rod enlargement at diametrically opposite sides of the latter in such a manner as to permit free'rocking of the depending string of sucker rods about the enlargement 15 on the sucker rod supported within the elevator. In order that no obstruction to such rocking of the sucker rod string relative to the elevator body is present, the seat is relieved as at 21; and, as best illustrated in FIG. 3, when the sucker rod is suspended in the elevator, the sucker rod will be freely suspended on the seat 4 and will not be in contact with any portion of the elevator body beneath the supporting seat 4.

Accordingly, the sucker rod will be supported in a truly vertical position While the bail 6, which is supported at its upper end at a point aligned with the axis of the sucker rods, will be disposed at a slight angle relative to the axis of the sucker rods, and the body 1. will also be disposed at an angle to the horizontal determined by the extent of angular movement of the body relative to the bail permitted by the abutment surfaces 13 on the bail ends 7 and the stop projections 12 on the body. This loadsupporting angular relationship of the bail and head of the elevator to the sucker rod and the point of load support is best illustrated in FIG. 1.

In order to latch a sucker rod into the elevator head 1 suitable latch mechanism is provided, including a pair of retainer jaws 23 adapted to extend towards one another so as to block the slot 2 leading to the seats 4 of the body, and thus to prevent inadvertent removal of the sucker rod 14 therefrom. The details of such latch mechanism are well known and need not be described specifically herein,

4 but instead, reference may be had to the patent to N. K. Smith, dated September 2, 1930, No. 1,774,675, and to the patent to H. E. Grau et al., dated October 15, 1940, No. 2,218,000.

Briefly, however, the latch mechanism includes operating levers 24 disposed in a transverse slot 24 in the elevator body 1, these levers carrying the projections 23 and being biased by torsion springs 25 disposed about the fulcrums 26 of the levers 24 in a direction to position the projections 23 in the slot 2. A second pair of operating levers 27 project from the rear side of the body and are interengaged with the levers 24 in such a manner as to effect retraction of the projections 23 from the slot 2 upon movement of the levers 27 towards one another.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that a sucker rod elevator has been provided which has the advantages of sucker rod elevators presently commonly employed; that is, reversibility of the head and the ability of the elevator to be stored with the bail lying fiat upon a rig floor, or upstanding and resting against the stop projections 12. However, due to the provision of an overturning moment arm, whereby when a string of sucker rods is supported in the elevator head the head will swing about the axis of the trunnions 5 until the stop projections 12 and the abutment surfaces 13 are coengaged, in combination with a universal support for the enlargement on the sucker rod, the sucker rod is supported at diametrically opposite sides of the enlargement and in line with the axis of load support, so that there is no tendency of the elevator to kink the rod supported therein.

While the specific details of the invention have been erein shown and described, changes and alterations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a sucker rod elevator of the type comprising a bail, a body pivotally connected to said bail, said body having a slot for the reception of a sucker rod and a seat for an enlargement on said sucker rod, that improvement wherein said body is provided with means including diametrically opposed surfaces universally engageable by said sucker rod enlargement for swivelly supporting said sucker rod in said body at diametrically opposed locations on a plane normal to said slot, and said body is pivotally connected to said bail on an axis offset from said seat, said body and bail having cooperative stop means for limiting pivotal movement of said body.

2. In a sucker rod elevator of the type comprising a bail, a body having top and bottom surfaces, said body being pivotally connected to said bail on an axis extending across said body above said lower surface, said body having a slot for the reception of a sucker rod, and said upper surface having a seat for the reception of a sucker rod enlargement, that improvement wherein said seat includes a pair of diametrically opposed surfaces for universal engagement with said sucker rod enlargement, and said body and bail are provided with means for preventing overturning of said body.

3. In a sucker rod elevator of the type comprising a bail, a body pivotally connected to said bail, said body having a slot for the reception of a sucker rod and a seat for the reception of an enlargement on said sucker rod, that improvement wherein said seat includes surfaces universally engageable by said sucker rod enlargement at diametrically opposite points of the latter, and said body and bail are provided with means for preventing overturning of said body.

4. A sucker rod elevator comprising: a body having a slot for the reception of a sucker rod and means providing a ball and socket type seat for a sucker rod enlargement, trunnions projecting from opposite sides of said body on axis normal to said slot and offset from the axis of said seat, a bail having ends pivotally connected to said trunnions, means retaining said bail ends on said trunnions, and coengageable stop means on said body and abutment surfaces on said bail ends for limiting pivotal movement of said body relative to said bail.

5. A sucker rod elevator comprising: a body having top and bottom surfaces, a slot for the reception of a sucker rod and means providing a pair of ball and socket type seats for a sucker rod enlargement on the top and bottom of said body, a pair of trunnions projecting laterally from said body midway between said top and bottom surfaces, top and bottom stop means also projecting laterally from said body, a bail having ends pivotally mounted on said trunnions, said bail ends having abutment surfaces engageable with said stop means to limit pivotal movement of said body relative to said bail in opposite directions, and means for releasably retaining a sucker rod against displacement from said slot.

6. A sucker rod elevator comprising: a body having a slot extending radially therein for the reception of a sucker rod, said body having opposed arcuate surfaces located at diametrically opposite positions at the opposite sides of said slot and extending at an angle towards one another and inwardly of the body for universal swivelled engagement by a sucker rod enlargement, a bail having its ends pivotally connected to said body for pivotal movement of said body about an axis offset longitudinally of said slot relative to said opposed surfaces, and means on said body and said bail for limiting pivotal movement of said body about said pivotal connection for permitting said sucker rod to be supported by said opposed surfaces while extending freely through said slot in spaced relation to the body within said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 16,587 Gustafson Apr. 5, 1927 578,339 King Mar. 9, 1897 611,417 Richey Sept. 27, 1898 1,627,291 Madsen May 3, 1927 1,737,029 Shafier Nov. 26, 1929 2,245,938 Ratigan June 17, 1941 2,3 54,217 Mullinix et a1 July 25, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 460,281 France July 12, 1913 

